ATFBETIBM Chapter 499

When Li Cangshan woke up, he found himself surrounded by people.

Rubbing his head, he sat up. “What happened to me?”

Bai Lixin: “You were exhausted and passed out.”

Li Cangshan shook his head. “How long was I unconscious?”

Bai Lixin: “Not long, about seven or eight hours. How do you feel now?”

“There’s no discomfort anywhere.” Li Cangshan swung his arms to move his joints. “Are we starting our journey now? Did we return to the surface?”

He shook his head again, feeling like he had forgotten something, but couldn’t remember what it was.

Soon, he noticed the unusual silence around.

Li Cangshan looked at Bai Lixin in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Dijia: “We’ve already reached the airspace above the Dark Steel City.”

Li Cangshan’s face didn’t show any joy, and the others didn’t look good either.

He got up and walked to the window amidst the hesitant expressions of the team members. Through the window, he finally saw the artificial planet he had always longed for.

It was a barren planet, already split in half from the center by something unknown.

Within the grim crack lay motionless debris.

All three gigantic stone statues made of metal were broken and drifting around the planet in ruins.

There was no light on the planet, only the breath of death.

The Dark Steel City, once known as the oasis of cosmic peace, had now become a desolate dead land. It was like a shell that had experienced various brutal trials, leaving behind a scene of devastation floating in the depths of the universe.

Li Cangshan stared blankly at the sphere outside for a long time before finding his voice. “Is this the Dark Steel City?”

“How did this happen?” He muttered softly, “How could the planet be destroyed? How can we complete the task like this?”

The others were no less bewildered and at a loss than Li Cangshan.

They woke up in the spaceship, and were unwilling to spend their lives trapped in the cage-like spaceship, so they went to the warehouse area to fight.

But now they had come to the Dark Steel City they had longed for, only to find nothing but ruins before them.

What should they do next?

The planet was destroyed, and they had no home anymore.

From now on, they were just wanderers in the interstellar void.

Li Cangshan’s questioning gaze fell on Dijia’s face.

Dijia, had a cold expression as usual, but he still spoke. “This ship is indeed a prison for interstellar prisoners.”

“The prisoners held on this ship are all extremely wicked criminals, committing heinous crimes such as arson, murder, and abduction. However, in the Dark Steel City, where humanity is supreme, there is no death penalty. In order to ensure that these criminals receive the punishment they deserve, they are injected with a dormant drug, theoretically, they will remain asleep until their bodies naturally die. Although there is no death penalty on the planet, although they are still alive, they have already entered a countdown to death.”

He paused. “You are lucky. Injecting the dormant drug is the planet’s punishment for prisoners. Since you have woken up, it means that your punishment has ended. This planet has abandoned you, and you don’t need to have too much attachment to this planet. There are many planets in the universe where life exists. In the three o’clock direction, a hundred million light-years away from here, there is a very beautiful blue planet with a suitable ecological environment for your survival, and the civilization level is not high. I can send you there now and help you start a brand new life.”

Li Cangshan frowned. “I just want to know why the Dark Steel City became like this.”

Dijia: “The spaceship is located in the distant universe fifty thousand light-years away from this planet. When I left here, everything was fine.”

“I don’t know the specific reason for the change here, but I speculate that it should be related to the increasingly conflict between the Rebel Army and the Dark Order Legion.”

Bai Lixin: “I want to go down and take a look.”

Just now, S419M scanned the Dark Steel City and found the existence of a firewall.

As he had guessed before, this was also a virtual world.

Although they were all virtual worlds created around the Dark Steel World, it was obvious that the time points were completely different.

The time point of the first virtual world was in the early days when the Rebel Army had not yet risen, belonging to the ancient era.

And the time point of the current virtual world was in the rear of the end of the battle, where everything was already too late.

In the first virtual world and this virtual world, he witnessed the rise and fall of this planet.

From the bustling early days to the current wreckage.

If it weren’t for the three conspicuous metal statues, he wouldn’t even be sure if this was the Dark Steel City.

Dijia’s eyes flashed with disapproval when he heard Bai Lixin’s words.

“Judging from the miserable state of the planet, this planet should have used powerful nucleo-energy during the Big Bang. This kind of energy will cause pollution to the environment and genetic modification of organisms in the surrounding area. I can’t let you go down. The dense gas on this planet will corrode and contaminate you, and you may encounter creatures that have survived but undergone huge mutations. They will threaten your life safety.”

Bai Lixin: “There should be protective gear to resist these harmful threats, right? Like the protective barrier opened outside the aircraft before, it could defend against solar flare energy, let alone this, right?”

The man’s eyes darkened. “Do you really want to go down?”

Bai Lixin’s eyes were firm. “Yes, I must go down.”

He had to find the location of the firewall; only then could he leave this place.

The man pursed his lips, unwilling to let Bai Lixin take risks. Letting him enter the current Dark Steel City was tens of times more dangerous than him going to retrieve the solar flare fragments earlier.

Because even he couldn’t calculate what would be on the remains of a wrecked planet.

The unknown.

That was the scariest part.

He opened his mouth slightly, wanting to refuse Bai Lixin.

But when his gaze met Bai Lixin’s bright eyes like stars, the words of refusal were stuck in his throat.

The words rolled around in his throat, and when they finally came out, they had completely changed: “You can go down, but I’ll go with you.”

Bai Lixin: “But aren’t you unable to leave the ship?”

Dijia: “It used to be because of the shortage of energy. If I went too far away from the ship, I would fall asleep due to the loss of energy. But now the energy in the ship has been fully replenished, so I can come and go freely.”

Li Cangshan called Bai Lixin.

Looking at the gaze Li Cangshan cast over, Bai Lixin pointed to him. “Li Cangshan will come too.”

“Boss, Captain, Big Boss, take me with you too.” Big Guy looked at the three of them. “Although I’ve lost my memories of the past, I still want to take a walk on the land where I was born and raised.”

He lowered his head after speaking, murmuring softly, “Wicked criminals? Was I really that bad before?”

After Big Guy finished speaking, the others also spoke up one after another, eager to go down together.

Seeing the situation, Dijia interrupted them impatiently: “Chattering like sparrows. Stop making noise. Since you all want to go down, then we’ll go down together.”

“Yeah!”

“Okay!”

“Long live the Captain!”

The matter of entering the Dark Steel City was thus settled.

The energy refined from the solar flare fragment was extremely powerful. Just one-third of the energy instantly replenished the spaceship’s energy to one hundred percent. Dijia used the remaining energy to charge equipment such as aircrafts and weapons. By the time all the equipment was fully charged, three-fifths of the solar flare energy was still left.

Before officially entering the Dark Steel City, Li Cangshan found Bai Lixin and Dijia and told them that he had something else to do.

Ten minutes later, the two men in protective suits stood again in the warehouse area.

Behind them was a tall man in black military uniform with exceptionally handsome features.

The man stared ahead, fixing his gaze on the impenetrable iron gate. “I’m going to open the gate.”

Li Cangshan tightened his grip on the flamethrower in his hand. “Hmm!”

The gate opened with a creak.

As the gears turned, the gate slowly opened.

At the moment the gate opened, several tentacles suddenly protruded from the narrow gap of the door.

In the blink of an eye, Li Cangshan pulled the trigger of the flamethrower, and Bai Lixin raised his lightsaber.

When hoarse wails came from inside, it was already evident which way the balance of this battle was tipping.

As the gate continued to open, fewer and fewer tentacles emerged.

Until the gate was fully opened, there were no more tentacles, replaced by black debris scattered all over the floor.

The three of them stepped into the warehouse area again, and the gate behind them slowly closed.

Because of the sufficient energy, there was no need to be frugal. Dijia looked up at the ceiling and all the lights above turned on

The dazzling white light suddenly descended, as bright and dazzling as the sun at noon in summer.

Li Cangshan instinctively narrowed his eyes.

‘Damn, almost blinded my titanium alloy eyes.’

Entering here again, they were different from the last time they entered.

Last time, because of insufficient firepower, Li Cangshan was very conservative.

Now with the inexhaustible flamethrower, Li Cangshan felt there was no need to be frugal.

Along the way, all the space creatures they met were sent back to their homes by this group of kind-hearted people.

Although the warehouse area should have been full of dangers, the three of them strolled through it like they were in their own backyard.

The division of labor among the three was also clear.

Dijia was responsible for finding any fish that had slipped through the net, Bai Lixin was responsible for forcing the space creatures out with his lightsaber, and Li Cangshan was responsible for the final harvest.

In just over an hour, they arrived in front of the green thread-like substance closest to the innermost part.

Dijia spoke at this time: “There should be no more space creatures.”

Bai Lixin put away his lightsaber. “There are none on the entire spaceship? Aren’t there any nests, young, or eggshells?”

Dijia shook his head. “These space creatures do not reproduce through eggs but through self-division. As long as the last space creature is killed, there will be no new space creature to threaten the spaceship.”

Li Cangshan crouched in front of the small hill, using both hands and feet to dig and pull, as if looking for something.

Bai Lixin stood behind Li Cangshan in silence.

It wasn’t until Li Cangshan pulled out a corpse that had been bitten beyond recognition that he stopped digging.

He stared at the corpse for a long time before slowly standing up from the ground with a serious expression. “This corpse… is me?”

Bai Lixin: “Yes.”

Li Cangshan furrowed his brow. “Last time here, I noticed that this corpse looked familiar, but at the time, I just thought it was strange. Later, I realized that this corpse looks a lot like me. God Xin, you stayed here for a long time last time, you should have noticed, right? Why are there two of me, what’s going on?”

He paused and then bent down again, pulling out another corpse. “Not only are there two of me, but there are also two Big Guys, two Pink Hair… No, not just two…” As the thread was unraveled, the bones and corpses, which had lost their cohesion, slid down to both sides, scattering like popcorn, and collapsed on the ground.

Li Cangshan pointed his finger at those bones. “The ones that are two meters long should all be Big Guys, right? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, … 34…”

His fingers moved from the most recognizable remains and finally stopped at the pile that still resembled a mess.

Turning his neck, Li Cangshan’s gaze shifted to Dijia. “Captain, can you tell me the reason?”

“Have we fallen into an endless time loop?” Dijia glanced at Bai Lixin and then slowly said, “No, that’s not it.”

“If it were a time loop, your bodies wouldn’t pile up like this.”

Li Cangshan: “Then what is it?”

Bai Lixin: “Is it cloning technology?”

Li Cangshan suddenly looked at Bai Lixin.

Dijia nodded in agreement with Bai Lixin’s answer. “Yes, cloning technology.”

Bai Lixin: “They are not wicked criminals, but rather astronauts from the spaceship you mentioned before?”

Dijia nodded again. “Exactly.”

Li Cangshan felt his head buzzing, and images of the past few days flashing through his mind. “The protective suits on wall in the armory seem to be tailor-made for us, they fit so well. At first, I thought there was some kind of black technology in the suits that could adjust to our body size, but those suits were actually ours?”

Dijia paused, then nodded again. “Yes, those protective suits were made according to your measurements.”

“Strictly speaking, these corpses on the ground are not ‘you’. For you now, everything is the first time. Although you are clones, you are a completely new person, just retaining the DNA characteristics of the original body. Some clones may also have exceptions, carrying certain habits, preferences, and memories of the original owner.”

Li Cangshan felt his feet go weak. He leaned against the wall to steady himself, looking pale as he glanced at his own palm and then at Bai Lixin. “So am I Player Li Cangshan or Clone Li Cangshan now? The memories I have about the game in my mind, are they the ones originally possessed by me or inherited by me after cloning?”

“Who am I, God Xin?”

Bai Lixin’s throat felt a bit dry, and he shook his head helplessly. “I don’t know the answer to that.”

The construction of the background framework in the escape game copies has always been perfect, and he didn’t know whether these corpses belonging to “Li Cangshan” on the ground are part of “Li Cangshan” himself or part of the construction of the copy’s framework.

Li Cangshan lowered his head and took a few deep breaths, quickly regaining his composure.

When he raised his head again, reason had taken over, and the shock gradually faded.

Li Cangshan looked at Dijia. “Since we are all astronauts and not criminals, why lie and say we are criminals? Why hide the truth?”

Dijia: “If not, how would you interpret it when you came in and saw so many corpses?”

“Even you were greatly affected when you learned that you were a clone, let alone others. You would be plunged into ethical self-blame.”

“The Dark Steel City is destroyed. I don’t know if everyone on the planet is dead or if some escaped. But if no one escaped, the dozen of you are the only survivors on this planet.”

“But the surviving survivors are a dozen clones.”

“Even if you were placed in a suitable living environment, you would not be able to escape from the shadow of being a clone. Suppression and torment would hit you, leading you down the path of self-destruction.”

He paused. “I have tried to tell the clones the truth. Before you, there have been thousands of generations of clones. Among them, I tried to tell them the truth about being clones. But without exception, they all ended up destroying themselves after learning the truth.”

The man’s eyes gradually became deep and absent-minded, as if he were immersed in a distant memory.

“Many years ago, I left the Dark Steel City as a banished spaceship detaining prisoners. At that time, there were a total of sixteen astronauts on the spaceship.”

“At first, I didn’t have a physical form. At that time, I was just a spaceship. The astronauts’ task was to guard these prisoners and handle the corpses after their natural deaths.”

“As the first-generation astronauts, they also had another mission, which was to create their own clones.”

“They wouldn’t stay on the spaceship forever. When their clones matured, they would return to the Dark Steel City on a small aircraft.”

“But then something unexpected happened.”

“The spaceship was pulled off course by cosmic fluctuations and entered a place it shouldn’t have stayed. Because of the deviation, the spaceship collided with a meteorite pile, causing the spaceship’s hull to rupture.”

“The space creatures floating in the sky then entered the spaceship through the ruptured walls and quickly hibernated, observing and imitating the astronauts.”

“By the time the astronauts discovered the problem, eight of them had been killed and replaced. The remaining astronauts could only choose to fight. In order to gain combat power, one of the astronauts pressed a switch to accelerate the birth of clones.”

“But they still underestimated the danger of the space creatures. Before the clones appeared, all the astronauts were wiped out. The last astronaut released the restrictions on the spaceship’s intelligent system before dying, hoping that the ship’s self-defense system could identify these space creatures and autonomously kill them.”

“I was activated at that time and gained complete thinking and control over the spaceship. At that time, I didn’t have a physical form, only thoughts. I couldn’t eradicate these space creatures. During the battle with the astronauts, the space creatures continued to be cut and recombined, from the initial one to more than three hundred at that time.”

“I analyzed the space creatures and found that they were vulnerable to fire. But because the energy was consumed by the space creatures, I couldn’t produce so much fire. So I came up with a solution to confine them.”

“I chased and drove all the space creatures into the warehouse area, and also took the opportunity to kill more than a hundred space creatures. But I knew it was useless. As long as one space creature existed, it would continue to split and recombine. If I killed a hundred of them, I knew that in a while, there would be two hundred, four hundred, or even more.”

“Confining them treated the symptoms but not the root cause. The energy loss was serious, and the spaceship was destined to be destroyed.”

“At that point, the clones began to wake up one by one.”

“They had no memories, they were like children, full of curiosity about their surroundings.”

“I appeared before them as a teacher, telling them they were the crew of this ship, and informed them of the crisis facing the ship.”

“At that time, I still didn’t understand human nature well enough. These clones discussed and then decisively entered the warehouse area together, as if they carried some kind of obsession and mission deep within them, determined to annihilate the space creatures.”

“I watched them enter the warehouse area with my own eyes.”

“I watched them fight against those space creatures with my own eyes.”

“I watched them being pierced through the body, their necks twisted, and their limbs torn off one by one by the space creatures, becoming toys and food.”

“Soon, the second generation of clones appeared.”

“This time, I was smarter. I didn’t tell them about the crisis the spaceship was facing, just that they were astronauts on this ship and what they needed to do on the ship.”

“But after a dozen days, they once again felt the call of destiny and entered the warehouse area together.”

“In the subsequent generations, I finally confirmed that the original humans had made programming modifications to the clones, implanting in their minds the determination to kill the space creatures.”

Upon hearing this, Li Cangshan shuddered.

The reason he entered the warehouse area was to completely kill the space creatures.

But was this thought driven by the responsibility of his professional identity, or was it driven by the obsession programmed into his mind?

Li Cangshan suddenly felt a chill run through his body.